Copacabana
by Hollyberries and Vanilla beans
Summary: Lola, an aspiring dancer, works at the Copacabana, a stylish nightclub in New York city with her lover and best friend, Toni. Both of them have big dreams, the determination to succeed, and of course, each other. However, the night life in New York hides dark people with dark secrets and happiness never lasts forever... *Based on the song Copacabana by Barry Manilow*


Lola peeked her head around the corner of the building, checking the ally way to make sure it was clear. It was empty. Good. She hated dealing with drunks before practice. She sighed with relief while adjusting her bag on her shoulder and making her way around the garbage piles to the back entrance of The Copacabana. Her key clicked neatly into place and she swung the large door to the club open. Locking it behind her, she walked to the end of the dark hallway and pressed a different key into the lock of her dressing room door. She flipped the light switch and the room filled with a dull, yellow glow. Throwing her bag onto the well worn couch that took up half the room, she approached her vanity and flipped those lights on as well. _There, much better_. She thought to herself with satisfaction as she kicked off her flats.

Turning around, she returned to her bag and pulled out her dance leotard for rehearsal. Stepping out of her pants and t-shirt, she pulled the outfit over her head and straightened it. She pulled her shoes out of her bag and plopped down onto the couch to lace them up. She stood when she had finished and her eyes fell upon herself in the vanity light. Lola examined herself in the mirror and groaned. She looked like she felt. Crap. She reached out to grab her hairbrush and dragged it through her tangled hair before pulled it back into a ponytail.

Perfect. She checked the clock on the wall. _Shit, I'm late!_ Hurrying out of her dressing room, she headed for the stage area. Elizabeta was speaking to the dancers when she walked in but stopped when she saw Lola. "Well, well, well, somebody finally decided to grace us with her presence? Hmm?" Lola stopped at the edge of the stage and looked at the floor guiltily. The other dancers watching her snickered, not even bothering to try and hide it. "I'm sorr-" Elizabeta snapped her fingers twice. "I don't want to hear it. This time you're excused, next time... we'll see. Line up for drills!" Everyone on stage snapped to attention and moved to different areas for stretching. Lola sighed, moved to stage left, and dropped down into the splits, taking deep breaths as her muscles contracted and stretched. _This is going to be a long practice..._

-75 minutes later-

"Alright! That's it for today. Maria, Lola, Esperanza, be careful not to overdo it on the job tomorrow." Lola wiped the sweat out of her eyes and pulled her leg up to stretch her hamstring one last time as the other girls started to clear out and head home. "LOLA!" She set her leg down and spun around as Mrs. Lizzie called to her from across the stage. There was grudging admiration in her eyes. "Good work." Lola smiled, "Thank you!" Her eyes lit with a smirk, "Don't get too cocky now, you've got a ways to go." She turned and waved her hand in the air. "I'll be in my office if you need me." Lola sighed and ran her fingers through her damp hair.

"You looked good, mi querida." Lola hopped off stage smiling as she headed over to her boyfriend who was cleaning glasses behind the bar with a rag. _Huh, this place seems so much smaller before hours... _"Thanks Toni." He flashed his heart stopping grin and set his glass down beside his rag. He leaned over the counter, green eyes shining. "Bésame, por favor?" Lola rolled her eyes but pressed her lips to his cocky grin anyway. She laughed slightly and pulled away.

"How long are you gonna be here tonight?" He rolled up his sleeve and checked his watch. "I've got another half an hour. Wait for me?" She snorted. "Don't I always?" He pushed his dark, chocolate colored, curly hair out of his eyes and chuckled warmly. "Of course, mi amor." he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Maybe tonight we can go grab something to eat and... head back to my place?" wink. wink. Lola giggled, "Way to be subtle, Toni." He leaned forward quickly and breathed heavily into her ear. "Ah, mi corazon, with you, I am anything but indirect." He leaned closer and his voice dropped to a hummed whisper. "Mi tesoro, te quiero y solamente usted." Lola blushed furiously as Toni laughed again and pulled away to look deeply into her eyes. The care she saw within them made her heart melt. "T-te amo, Antonio..."

He twined his fingers through hers and pressed their foreheads together. Sighing contentedly he whispered, "Te amaré por siempre." Lola leaned into him, loving the lack of space between them. "Yo también." Suddenly, a slamming door shattered their moment. "Carriedo, I don't pay you enough to stand around and flirt!" Lizzie's husband and the owner of the club, Roderich, snapped as he made his way towards backstage. It was times like this when his short temper really showed up. Toni rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. "Senor, you don't pay me enough period..." Roderich whipped around and gave Antonio the stink eye before scowling and continuing on his way. Lola and Toni looked at each other and held in their laughter for as long as possible before breaking down into gut wrenching fits.

"So," Lola sighed, wiping tears out of her eyes when she had finally managed to control herself once again, "we'll go in half an hour then?" Toni leaned forward and placed a quick, chaste kiss on her lips as he smiled. "Si, a half an hour." He returned to cleaning glasses as Lola pulled a bar stool away from the counter and sat down.

-Time Skip-

"AND THAT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IS OUR VERY OWN LOLA!" Lola smiled and tried to bring her breathing back down to a normal pace as cheers and applause erupted from around the crowded club. She pulled herself up out of her bow and slipped into the side wings of the stage that led to the dressing rooms as Maria's song started to play. Lola entered her room and sat down in front of the vanity. Carefully, she dabbed sweat off her face and re-applied her makeup to make herself look presentable.

A swift knocking sounded at the door. Lola threw the tissue she had used into the trash and called, "Come in!" Sofía's head peaked into the room as she opened the door a crack. "Lola, someone wants to see you." Lola straightened and rose from the chair, she followed Sofia down the hall and as they entered the main room, she noticed that Maria had finished dancing. Her music had been replaced with a recording of a lively Spanish song which she recognized. Toni loved this song. She turned her head to find him at his station serving drinks at the bar. His eyes caught hers over the heads of people in the crowd and he winked. Suddenly, a sharp whistle from the other side of the room caught her attention before she could make her way over to him. Antonio's eyes shifted darkly as he looked past her. Lola turned to see who he was glaring at.

A man was sitting alone at a table on the far side of the room. His black hair was pulled up into a ponytail and she could see a diamond stud glittering in his ear. He smirked and leaned back in his seat confidently, as he did, he displayed the nice clothes he sported. Lola shuddered slightly, making sure he wouldn't be able to see it. _Mafia... _He nodded his head. Sofia leaned in close to whisper in Lola's ear, "That's him. Good luck." She scurried away before Lola could even protest. Taking a deep, calming breath, Lola made her way over to the man's table.

"Hola, senor. How may I help you?" He chuckled and tilted his head back. "Acalme senhora. I just wanted to say that you did a wonderful job." His laughter made her chest tighten. "You are an excellent dancer. Você _é __muito__ bonita__." _He reached out and grasped Lola's hand before she could pull it away. Delicately, he brought her palm to his lips and kissed it, all the while making eye contact. She pulled back, but his grip held firm. "In case you wished to know, my name is Rico. Perhaps, maybe sometime you could show me around and we could become further acquainted with each other? The sights here are so much different than those in Portugal... eh, gatinha?"

"Don't touch her!" A dark voice snarled from behind Lola as strong hands pulled her away and placed her protectively behind a large body. She sighed with relief, but a warning edge sounded in her voice. _Stay safe._ "Toni..." Rico man rose from his chair, looking absolutely infuriated. "Quem você pensa que é?!" Toni stanced himself aggressively. "Su amante." Rico laughed an ugly, hate filled laugh. "Her _dead_ lover." Toni lunged at Rico, blood in his eyes. The two men slammed back into a table, knocking everything off and breaking glass in the process. The room had become a mass of confusion as people tried to figure out what was happening. Toni picked up a chair and flung it at Rico, knocking him off his feet momentarily. He rose and staggered, but charged forward quickly. Rico slammed into Toni. Antonio lost his balance and had to take several steps back. Lola saw blood dripping from his head. Before Rico could hit him again, Lola leapt forward. She shoved Rico as hard as she could when he tried to move towards Toni, desperate to get his attention. "Get off me!" He snarled and whipped his arm around, punching Lola in the stomach and knocking the breath out of her. She fell to the floor gasping. "LOLA!" Toni yelled desperately, he took his eyes off of Rico for a nano-second and took a step towards her. He never saw the gun.

**BANG. **Lola stared in horror as his body slumped heavily to the ground. "TONI!" She screamed. Scrambling to her knees, she stumbled over to him. Cradling his face in her shaking hands, she cried. Desperately. "¡Dios Mio! No, no, please no! Toni! Stay here, stay with me! ¡No me dejes! ¡Por favor, por favor!" She sobbed brokenly as she pulled his body closer. She heard Roderich frantically calling for help in the background, yelling at others to stop Rico from leaving. But it didn't matter. It was all fading away. Nothing mattered. She rocked back and forth, sobbing into Toni's hair. "Te Amo... te amo... solo tu... te amo..." Of course it didn't matter. He was already gone.

-Time Skip-

Lola sat at the bar, swirling the scotch around in her shallow glass. Her head resting on her hand. She closed her eyes as another migraine took hold of her brain. _Damn this stupid disco music..._ A shadow fell across her form as a person stopped in front of her on the other side of the bar. The bar where Toni used to be. But Toni wasn't here anymore. Toni died a long time ago. She glanced up into Arthur's sympathetic eyes. "Are you alright, love?" Lola looked at him for a moment before she straightened and let her head fall back to stare at the ceiling. Her eyes watched the strobe lights and the rainbow patterns as they flashed across dancing bodies. Her bangs and feathers drifted slightly and swayed into her face. She blew them out of the way, giggling as she did. "Oh Arthur, silly, silly, Arthur. I'm never going to be okay again..."

Because in reality, she had died side by side with Toni 30 years ago.

*Writer's note: Oh man, the feeeels! This story is based off of the song Copacabana recorded by Barry Manilow. I thought that it'd be a great Hetalia story and from my point of view, I was right. I hope you liked it (I mean, not because it made you unhappy, sorry if it did!) Peace-Berries and Beans

**Translations:**

_ Mi querida- _My dear

_Bésame, por favor?- _Kiss me, please?

_Mi corazon- _My heart

_Mi tesoro- _My treasure

_ Te quiero y solamente usted- _I love you and only you.

_Te amaré por siempre-_ I will always love you

_Yo también- _Me too

_Você __é __muito_ bonita- You are very beautiful

_Gatinha-_ Kitten

_Quem você pensa que é?!-_ Who do you think you are?!

_Su amante- _Her lover

_¡Dios Mio!- _Oh my God!

_¡No me dejes!- _Don't leave me!

_Te Amo... te amo... solo tu... te amo- _I love you... I love you... only you... I love you...


End file.
